Weekly Encouragement
Good Wednesday Everyone,
Weekly blessings to all. Fall is here but summer lingers. So far Fall hasn’t brough any cooler weather, but it will change quick enough. This Lord’s Day we had an excellent worship service to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I pray all who attended were blessed. Thank you to all who prepared our Lord’s Supper. Then we followed the worship service with the “Back-to-School Bash”. The Bash would not have happened without Tamara’s leadership, and all those who helped in cooking, preparing, and clean-up for the Bash. The bash was a huge hit with the Bethel Baptist children. I must quote one of our children from atop the water inflatable before he slid into the splash-down pool, “This is the best day of my life!!” He was certainly serious, just very young.
Tonight, we will have our Wednesday Night Followship. On the menu is baked chicken and rice, as if you are able bring a dish or dessert to share. This week begins for us the Myers/Mallary State Mission Offering. For the next two weeks we want to encourage Bethel Baptist to give above your regular tithes and offerings to this excellent ministry. The Alabama goal is $1,200,000 and we want to be a part of this goal. Give as the Lord’s leads knowing your gifts will be well used and a blessing to those who receive them.
We have just begun our sermon series of the incredible Book of Romans in a series called, “The Righteousness of God.” In this epistle, Paul is writing to never before met Christians of the righteousness of God, revealed to mankind, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans is a book that will shine the light of salvation upon you, strengthened the strongest Christian, and educated the newest Christian. Do not let the profound theology of Romans overshadow the deep heartfelt plea of Paul. The challenge given in the first sermon concerning Romans was to believe one thing at a time about Romans.
Thus far, in Romans 1 and 2, we have talked about the separation between Christians and unbelievers. For Romans 2, we described the appearance, purpose, and the intimidation of a courtroom. The drama, the evidence, and the truth are revealed in a courtroom. We compared the similar “players” of a criminal court to a spiritual court. There is a judge, a prosecutor, and a defense attorney. But the defendant may surprise you. The defendant in a biblical court is you. The is terrible news. None of us want to be a defendant in anything. Yet we are. We are accused of the worst thing imaginable, and truthfully, we are all guilty a crime where death is the justifiable punishment. We have all failed God because we have sinned. The good news is this: Not everyone will receive the same penalty. This is because of our “Wonderful Counselor”. He is not wonderful only because of His talent. He is wonderful because of who He is and because of what He has done already on our behalf. Our Wonderful Counselor is Jesus Christ.
When we are rightfully accused by Satan before God. Jesus Christ will not make excuses for us, He will not make a reasonable defense for us, He will not throw us on the mercy of the court. Jesus Christ will tell the judge of the promise made for us. This is the perfect imagery for where Paul is taking us theologically. Paul is explaining to people this: God has made a promise of what He will do for those who believe in Him. God has promised to forgive us of our sins if we will believe in Him. God has promised to redeem us. And remember exactly who Jesus is. As Paul described Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God. Jesus will tell the judge “WHOSE” we are. To this truth, and God will know it to be true, God will pardon us because He is our pardon. Satan will then suffer the loss as we are found not only guilt-less, but we will also be found righteous, holy, pure, and forgiven of everything he accused us of before God. We will escape the punishment Satan wants for us.
If there is someone you know, care about, and love: Tell them about Bethel Baptist. More importantly tell them about God, just like Paul is doing, but tell them in a way as God equips and leads you to do. The best thing others can hear is this, “God is Right!!” As we learn together, we will believe, “Others really want what we have, they just don’t know it yet!” Invite someone you know, care about, and love to Bethel Baptist this Lord’s Day.
In Christ,
Pastor Michael
